Middle-class progress said to be limited (not better off today than 5 yrs ago)

[UpInArms]

Source: Associated Press

WASHINGTON - More and more middle-class Americans say they aren't better off than they were five years ago, reflecting economic pressures amid growing personal debt, a study released Wednesday found.

Their short-term assessment of personal progress, according to the study, is the worst it's been in nearly half a century.

The survey by the Pew Research Center, a Washington-based organization, paints a mixed picture for the 53 percent of adults in the country who define themselves as "middle class," with household incomes ranging from below $40,000 to more than $100,000.

It found that a majority of all Americans said they haven't progressed in the last five years. One in four, or 25 percent, said their economic situation had not improved, while 31 percent said they had fallen backward. Those numbers together are the highest since the survey question was first asked in 1964. Among the middle class, 54 percent said they had made no progress (26 percent) or fallen back (28 percent).

Asked about their financial experiences in the past year, 53 percent of middle-class people said they had to cut spending because money was tight. Nearly one in five, or 18 percent, said they had trouble getting or paying for medical care, while 10 percent reported they had been laid off or otherwise lost their jobs.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/middle_class_poll

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worst.president.ever.

[kestrel91316]

1. No, REALLY????? Who knew?

[MichiganVote]

2. And will it make a tinker's damn to our millionaires club-Congress- not a chance in hell

[SammyWinstonJack]

5. bu$h's base, the HAVES AND HAVE MORE are better off.

[Lasher]

3. The Results of Bush Republican Failed Economic Policies

Today's announcement that the U.S. lost 80,000 jobs in March is just the latest example of the failure of Bush Republican economic policies. Years of economic mismanagement have created a housing crisis and credit crunch that are spreading throughout the economy and hurting American families.

The March unemployment rate jumped to 5.1 percent from 4.8 percent, the highest since a matching rate in September 2005. Unemployment Rate Was 4.2 Percent When President Bush Took Office.

New Home Sales Fell in February For the Fourth Straight Month. While the rate of decline has slowed, the worst slump in more than two decades has not run its course, analysts said.

Gas Prices Have More Than Doubled Since President Bush Took Office. When President Bush took office in 2001, the cost of gas at the pump was $1.47. The cost of gas as of March 31, 2008 was $3.29 per gallon, up 123 percent since 2001.

The cost of family health insurance has skyrocketed 78 percent since 2001. Cost of College Is up 60 Percent Since President Bush Took Office.

Under President Bush, Americans Are Working Longer, But Wages Are Lagging. Americans have worked harder - and more productively - for their families, but are not receiving the proportionally increased rewards for their hard work. While the productivity of the American worker (output per hour) rose by 18.7 percent between the first quarter of 2001 and the third quarter of 2007, average hourly compensation (wages plus benefits, adjusted for inflation) increased by only 9.1 percent during this period.

http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock%20News/1313560/

[OhioChick]

4. I Would've Never Guessed...

:sarcasm:

[HughBeaumont]

6. Geez, can I get a DUH from the congregation?

But hey, let's all keep giving ALL the money to one class of people at the expense of everything else. Seriously. They're the best bred, the best educated . . . THEY'LL know what to do with it!

We would all just blow that cash on silly things like new Cadillacs and Ikea furniture. Oh wait, isn't that what we're supposed to do? You know, to keep 'Murka GREAT?

Gotta LOVE them "free markets"!